Corbett (surname)

Corbett is an English-language surname. It is derived from the Anglo-Norman French, Middle English, and Old French corbet, which is a diminutive of corb, meaning "raven". The surname probably originated from a nickname referring to someone with dark hair or a dark complexion like a raven's.^[1]^[2] The surname was brought to England from Normandy,^[2] and spread to Scotland in the 12th century,^[2]^[3] and into northern Ireland in the 17th century.^[2] Early instances of the name are Corbet in Shropshire, recorded in Domesday Book in 1086; Corbet in Shropshire, recorded in the Assize Rolls of Worcestershire in 1158; and le Corbet in Oxfordshire, recorded in the Eynsham Cartulary in 1323. Variations of the surname include: Corbet, and Corbitt.^[1] Corbett is sometimes an Anglicised form of the Irish surnames Ó Corbáin and Ó Coirbín, which mean "descendant of Corbán" and "descendant of Coirbín", respectively.^[4]

Names borne by several Corbetts

In politics

Albert H. C. Corbett (1887–1983), politician in Manitoba, Canada
Alfred H. Corbett (1915–2000), politician in Oregon, United States
Archibald Corbett, 1st Baron Rowallan (1856–1933), Scottish Liberal politician
Arthur Corbett, 3rd Baron Rowallan (1919–1993), British aristocrat most notable for successfully having his second marriage annulled in 1970
Henry W. Corbett (1827–1903), 3rd United States senator from Oregon
Irvine Finlay Corbett (1915–1986), politician in British Columbia, Canada
Jerry Corbett (1917–1997), Illinois state representative
John Corbett (industrialist) (1817–1901), English industrialist, politician and philanthropist
James Corbett (politician) (1906–2005), Australian Country Party politician
James A. Corbett (1933–2001), American rancher, writer, and human rights activist
Jim Corbett (politician) (1924–2007), U.S. politician
Lawrence E. Corbett Jr. (1921–2020), American politician from New York
Lawrence W. Corbett (1859–1897), American politician from Virginia
Moses Corbet, major (1728–1814), lieutenant governor of Jersey from 4 Apr 1771 to 1781
Panton Corbett (1785–1855), English politician
Richard Corbett (born 1955), member of the European Parliament for the Labour Party for Yorkshire and the Humber
Robert Corbett (Canadian politician) (born 1938), politician in New Brunswick, Canada
Robin Corbett, Baron Corbett of Castle Vale (1933–2012), Labour member of parliament for Birmingham, Erdington
Ron Corbett (born 1960), mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan (1895–1977), Bronze Wolf awardee
Tom Corbett (born 1949), 46th governor of Pennsylvania

In sport

Arch Corbett (1883–1920), Australian rules footballer
Austin Corbett, American football player
Claude Corbett, Australian sports journalist
Doug Corbett (born 1952), American baseball pitcher
Dick Corbett, English boxer
Fred Corbett, English footballer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century
Gene Corbett, major league first baseman from 1936 to 1938
Harold Corbett, Australian rugby league footballer
Harry Corbett, English professional boxer
James J. Corbett, heavyweight boxing champion
Joe Corbett, major league starting pitcher who played in the National League
John Corbett (coach), American football player and college sports coach
Leo Corbett, Australian footballer
Marius Corbett, South African javelin thrower
Mike Corbett (ice hockey, born 1942), professional hockey player
Mike Corbett (ice hockey, born 1972)
Norman Corbett, Scottish footballer
Willie Corbett, Scottish footballer
Young Corbett III, the world welterweight boxing champion
Steve Corbett, American football Offensive Guard

In literature

Edward P. J. Corbett, author
The Misses Corbett, Grace (c. 1765/1770–1843) and Walterina (died 1837), Scottish poets and authors
Maryann Corbett, American poet, medievalist, and linguist
Sarah Corbett, British poet born 1970, received Eric Gregory Award 1997
Scott Corbett children's author
Steve Corbett, author of When Helping Hurts

In business

Gerald Corbett (born 1951), head of Railtrack
Henry L. Corbett (1881–1957), American businessman and politician, in Oregon
Kevin Corbett (born 1955), American businessman, shipping and transportation, ED of NJTranist
Roger Corbett (born 1942), Australian businessman, CEO of Woolworths Ltd 2001–2007

In television, film and fiction

Ben Corbett (1892–1961), American actor
Bill Corbett, playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and performer
Daniel Corbett, British meteorologist
Glenn Corbett, American actor
Gretchen Corbett, American actress most noted for the role of "Beth Davenport" on the television series The Rockford Files
Harry Corbett (1918–1989), British puppeteer
Harry H. Corbett (1925–1982), British actor
Jeremy Corbett, New Zealand comedian
John Corbett (born 1961), American actor
Kari Corbett, Scottish actress
Matthew Corbett (born 1948), British television personality known for The Sooty Show
Ronnie Corbett (1930–2016), Scottish comedian and actor
Shaun Taylor-Corbett, American actor
Susannah Corbett, English actress
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories
Winslow Corbett, American actress and the daughter of Rockford Files supporting player Gretchen Corbett

In the military

Boston Corbett, the Union soldier who shot and mortally wounded Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth
Elsie Cameron Corbett (1893 –1977), volunteer ambulance driver in World War I
Frederick Corbett, English recipient of the Victoria Cross
Julian Corbett, British naval historian and geostrategist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Thomas Corbett, Indian Army officer

In geography

John Rooke Corbett, mountaineer and compiler of list of peaks between 2500 and 3000 feet.

In other fields

Edwin Corbett (1819–1888), British diplomat, envoy to several countries
Greville G Corbett (born 1947), British linguist
Jim Corbett (1875–1955), British hunter and naturalist in India
James W. Corbett (1928–1994), American physicist
Jonathan Corbett, British TV presenter, food commentator & buyer for Tesco
Joseph Corbett Jr. (1928–2009), American former Fulbright scholar jailed for murder
Liz Corbett English epidemiologist
Margaret Darst Corbett (1889–1962), American vision educator
Ned Corbett (1887–1964), Canadian adult educator and leader in the field.
Sidney Corbett (born 1960), American composer based in Germany
Ted Corbett (chemist) (1923–2018), New Zealand organic chemist

References

^ ^a ^b Reaney, Percy Hilde (1995), Wilson, Richard Middlewood (ed.), A dictionary of English surnames (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 109, ISBN 0-19-863146-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Corbett Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 19 August 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
^ Black, George Fraser (1946), The surnames of Scotland: their origin, meaning, and history, New York Public Library, p. 170.
^ Corban Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 19 August 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.

This page lists people with the surname Corbett.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

[reaney-1] Reaney, Percy Hilde (1995), Wilson, Richard Middlewood (ed.), A dictionary of English surnames (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 109, ISBN 0-19-863146-4.

[ancestry-2] Corbett Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 19 August 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.

[black-3] Black, George Fraser (1946), The surnames of Scotland: their origin, meaning, and history, New York Public Library, p. 170.

[ancestry2-4] Corban Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 19 August 2012. This webpage cites Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.

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